Sedentary men 'more prone to heart failures'

A new study has found that men who reported being sedentary with low levels of physical activity were at a significantly higher risk for heart failure than those who were more active.

Researchers examined the electronic health records of more than 82,000 men aged 45 years and older who were part of the California Men's Health Study.

The researchers followed these men for more than 10 years and found that those who reported high levels of sedentary time and low levels of physical activity had 2.2 times the risk of developing heart failure as compared with men who reported high physical activity and low sedentary time.

"Though traditionally we know quite a bit about the positive impact that physical activity has on cardiovascular disease, we know significantly less about the relationship between physical activity and heart failure," lead author Deborah Rohm Young, from the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research 'n' Evaluation, said.

"The results of this large study of a racially and ethnically diverse population reinforce the importance of a physically active and, importantly, a nonsedentary lifestyle for reducing the risk of heart failure," the researcher said.

The study was published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.